Together!
by IdrianWatzon
Summary: Pairing Sousuke and Kaname up is a hard feat, indeed... But Kyouko has a plan, and in order for it to work, she must drag poor Shinji along to help.


**Together!**

Tokiwa Kyouko was not a ditz, and she wasn't about to let Kazama Shinji call her one.

Scowling, she turned towards the scrawny boy, clasping her tiny pink camera in one hand. Shinji, with his over-sized glasses and a giant pile of Arm Slave magazines, seemed to notice his mistake almost instantly. He shrunk back and braced himself for some sort of hidden impact.

"I am _not _a ditz!" Kyouko declared, huffing defiantly.

Shinji shuddered and ran a hand nervously through his hair, "I d-didn't mean that, Tokiwa. N-not at all."

"Then what, Kazama?" She couldn't stop the angry glare she gave him.

"I meant that maybe. . . er. . ." He trailed off, unable to come up with a good excuse for the sudden comment on her being a ditz. He hadn't really meant it. In fact, in a way, he had done it to gain her attention. He had always held a strange fascination with her. Perhaps insulting her wasn't the best way to start a conversation, but it was better than nothing.

"If you think I should try to be a bigger side-character, you're entirely wrong," Kyouko added, holding up her camera with pride, "The fans love me plenty."

"I didn't mean that," Shinji waved his hands about frantically. He swallowed the lump in his throat and pondered his next course of action. He knew, in a small way, he liked the adorable girl with the sweet laugh. But he wasn't a man was action. Not in the least.

Kyouko found her patience beginning to break.

"How am I a ditz, Kazama?" She demanded, rising to her full height. Shinji cowered and almost dropped his magazines.

"It was just a comment!" He squeaked, covering his head with his free arm in fright, "I didn't mean any harm!"

"I'm not Kaname," Kyouko held up her camera and took a picture of his cowering self. "I won't hit you, Kazama."

He jolted at the flash and stood straight, "Hey! No pictures!" His voice suddenly gained a bit of confidence.

Kyouko stashed the camera behind her back and smiled cheerfully, "Since you made fun of me, you're going to have to help me."

Desperate, Shinji clutched his magazine's closer and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "With what?" His voice was weaker and less squeaky, but his confidence had clearly died. Kyouko grinned and motioned across the room at a couple bickering over a small handgun.

"You're going to help me get those two together," Kyouko whispered just loud enough for him to hear.

Shinji's eyes widened and he glanced at the angry-looking pair, "But I'm a guy!"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Kyouko prodded his arm with one finger and giggled, "Come on. Kaname and Sagara are perfect for each other!"

Shinji's eyes lowered and he shook his head nervously, "That's interfering. I don't want to interfere. Not with _them_. Besides, they're the main characters. We're only supposed to have side parts."

"You _owe _me," Kyouko smiled sweetly, "Especially for that comment."

"Fine," his nod was half-hearted, and he kept his eyes lowered. He wasn't sure what he had gotten himself into, but at least he would get the chance to stick around with her. He liked it when he could. It was sort of interesting.

They met after school the next day. Shinji had a bag of Arm Slave action figures, and Kyouko had a sack of dark clothing.

"What's that for?" Shinji asked as he watched her remove dark item after dark item.

"Disguises."

"For what?"

"For blending in," Kyouko passed him a pair of black trousers and a black jacket. She handed him a sleek black hat to finished the look off, "Go change."

Shinji stared at the outfit, "But what if it doesn't fit?"

"It will. Trust me."

For a moment, the poor boy wasn't sure what he'd gotten himself into. He hadn't meant to say such a rude comment. He hadn't even meant to insult her. Kyouko was a nice girl who didn't ask for much at all, and he respected her greatly for it.

Now, he wondered if she was worth it.

"Hurry up!" Kyouko covered her glasses with a nice pair of shades and waited as he changed in the bushes. Afterwards, they huddled around a piece of paper with the plan she had typed out. The top of it read, "Mission : Kanagara".

"They always go to Kana's for dinner today," Kyouko spoke with authority as she explained what they would do.

"How do you know that?" Shinji whispered, staring at her in awe.

"I have my ways," Kyouko smiled and gave a short laugh.

Shinji swallowed back his retort and instead went for a lighter question, "What's Kanagara?"

"All of the crazy fangirls obsess over combined names nowadays, so I thought I'd make one, too! Isn't it cute?" Kyouko giggled and pointed at the first mission objective.

"You're reading too far into this," Shinji muttered quietly, watching her finger trace the sentence. She had dainty hands. They were cute.

"How so?"

"I dunno," he shrugged, tilting his head to the side like a cat. It was interesting for him to be around her like this. Usually he only ever spent time around her at school. It was an entirely different matter outside of the daily routine of homework and class.

"They're practically meant for each other. You've seen the fanfiction. I think it'd be healthy to finally show the two of them how right they are," Kyouko rolled the paper up and stashed it in her jacket pocket. After that, she stood and pointed in the general direction of Kaname's apartment.

"Aren't we going over the rest of the plan?" Shinji's voice was quiet.

"Naw. The readers wouldn't want to hear such a long explanation. It's best to just get started," Kyouko yanked him to his feet and pulled him along. They looked oddly suspicious walking in such dark clothing, but then again, all students from Jindai High seemed suspicious in one way or another.

"Tokiwa," Shinji managed once they had stopped near the back of Kaname's apartment building.

"Yes, Kazama?"

"Don't you think Sousuke will have bombs all over? Won't we be caught before we can even take the chance to act?" Kazama shuddered violently at the memory of his last accident with Sousuke's weaponry. It had been at the hot springs, with Kurz and Ono-D.

"Don't forget the circumstances of this particular episode," Kyouko pulled out her camera and snapped a photo of his clueless facial expression. She examined the outcome quickly.

"I don't understand."

"Because this episode is focused mainly on us, we'll make it. That's how it always works."

"Oh," gaining a small sense of confidence, Shinji stared up at the balcony he knew was Kaname's. He hadn't been up there since his incident months before when she tried to murder him with a baseball bat. Again, he shuddered at the memories.

Suddenly Shinji wondered why on earth he was here. Both Kaname and Sousuke had tried to injure him a few times in one way or another. It just wasn't safe.

But still, he decided he would help Kyouko. He knew he would. At her request, he felt he would do anything.

"Okay," Kyouko whispered. She held up a small rock, "Are you good at aiming?"

Shinji knew he wasn't. But he nodded anyway, and in an act of trying to show off, he threw the rock up as told. It, surprisingly enough, flew right on target.

"Maybe its the author," he muttered, eying the rattling glass with confusion.

"Hm?" Kyouko glanced his way, but he waved her off.

"Nothing. Let's just get this over with."

They waited for Sousuke to come barreling through the sliding door. With his gun drawn, he grasped the balcony railing and jerked his head around frantically.

"Sousuke, you idiot. Get back here!" Kaname's voice was loud and angry. Shinji had the distinct feeling they had ruined their dinner with the distraction.

"Now," Kyouko shoved Shinji ahead.

With a stumble, Shinji ducked his face under the black cap and took off running out of the bushes. He knew Sousuke would follow, and he knew Sousuke would no doubt try to shoot him. But still, for some odd reason, he knew he would do it for the sake of Kyouko. He liked the idea of showing off for her.

Sure enough, Kyouko watched Sousuke scale down the side of the building and take off after Shinji. Making sure the military threat was gone, she waited a few moments more and screamed.

Kaname came to the railing now.

The moment her best friend clutched the metal bars, Kyouko screamed again. Sousuke had probably turned back by now, but it would take him a good minute to return. She also knew her voice would suffer later, but that didn't matter. Kaname's relationship status was top priority.

Once more, as if by magic, fate came along to help Kyouko out. A screw in the railing shattered, and the entire metal bar collapsed forward. Kaname fell with it, and only barely managed to hang on.

"Shinji's right," Kyouko muttered, glancing up at the sky with her eyebrows narrowed in suspition, "It's gotta be the author."

But no more questions were asked, as Kaname let out a scream even more awful than Kyouko's had been. She clung to the bars tightly, holding on for dear life.

Seconds later, Sousuke raced around the corner, obvious worry on his face. He noticed Kaname's dangling body, and he opened his mouth wide.

"Miss Chidori! Hang on!"

"I can't!" Kaname yelped back. Her grip loosened, and she slid down a few inches.

"If you'll hold on until I can make it up–"

"I CAN'T!!" Kaname's voice was desperate. Kyouko could see Sousuke's breathing stop. He seemed to contemplate the situation for a moment, before an idea came to him.

"I'll catch you!"

"WHAT??" Kaname's voice lowered to a threaten, "Don't you dare even suggest that, Sousuke."

"I will!" Sousuke dropped his gun and ran so that he was beneath her. He stared right up, his expression determined, "You can let go, Miss Chidori."

"No!" Kaname's grip grew weaker still, but she kept hanging on, "You are _not _going to catch me! Sousuke, get me _real _help!"

"I _am _real help!" Sousuke hollered back, "I'm supposed to protect you! Don't worry, I'll catch you!"

There was a moment of silence. Shinji crawled through the bushes and knelt beside Kyouko, his breathing coming out in low gasps. For a moment, Kyouko was proud of him for being brave enough to so much as "challenge" Sousuke. But she would worry about congradulating him later. Her best friend was still hanging off the balcony.

Shinji stared at the incident, surprised.

"What happened?" He whispered.

Kyouko shushed him.

"Really?" Kaname's voice was barely loud enough for the two onlookers to hear.

"Yes. Please, Kaname."

"Alright," Kaname didn't wait another moment. She let go. She fell. She screamed.

And Sousuke caught her.

What happened after that was what Kyouko had hoped for. So, in satisfaction and in pride, she grasped Shinji's hand and yanked him along beside her. They didn't speak until they were far from the apartment building.

"What happened?" Shinji broke the silence at last.

"She fell. He caught her. I'll leave the rest up to the imaginations of those reading, I guess," Kyouko swung her arm with his; back and forth; slow and steady.

"Hm. . ." Shinji sighed and glanced at their intertwined hands. His cheeks grew pink. He certainly hadn't considered that they would ever hold hands. Not once.

"We make a good team," Kyouko giggled, squeezing his fingers between hers.

She pulled out her camera.

"What are you doing?" Shinji asked, watching her face it in his direction.

"Taking a picture to remember the moment," she snapped the photo, and stared at the result almost longingly.

"What'll we do, now?"

"I don't know," Kyouko shrugged and began to swing their arms again.

"The readers probably don't like this outcome," he added after another moment of awkward silence.

"Well, that's their problem."

Shinji didn't really care if the readers hated the end result. He was thoroughly enjoying it himself. Especially holding Kyouko's hand; it was a nice feeling. He hoped it wouldn't end.

"Hey, Shinji?" Kyouko glanced at him out of the corner of her glasses. He returned her gaze, his cheeks still pink from his earlier realization.

"Yes, Tokiwa?"

She covered her mouth with her fingers and giggled with her cute voice, "Call me by my first name, alright?"

His eyes widened. Two pleasant things in one day! It was almost too much for him to take.

"We should really hang out again, some time," she continued on, facing forward with a smile.

He watched her with a partially open mouth.

Three surprises in less than a few minutes. He had to be dreaming.

But instead of pinching himself or gawking, he decided the calm, collected approach would be best. Returning her smile with a genuine smile of his own, Shinji faced forward as well.

"Sure."

-- If you're a fan of Greg Ayres, the English voice for Shinji Kazama, then check out The Meat Bun Brigade (yahoogroups).


End file.
